Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Dear Mom,
It came to me as a revelation last weekend, I don't know what inspired the thought, but I realized I've spent too much time trying to be someone I am not. Maybe we all do this. Trying to be better is a good thing, but comparing and contrasting and denying is such a waste of time. And wasting time is a SIN in my book. So there. I am guilty of wasting time struggling to be someone other than me. Am I having a mid-life/mid-winter/Japanese tidying crisis ?
I have a desire to simplify things (who doesn't?!) I am making peace with the knowledge that some things are the way they are because that is exactly the way they are supposed to be and darn it just step back and be happy. I am never going to live on a farm or in the woods and have willowy long skinny legs. I realized that longing for those things means I am not fully appreciating this house and my neighborhood and my legs that work- even if they are short and…. sturdy.
I guess it took almost 54 years to give myself permission. Or I am just worn out tired.
I am happy wearing blue jeans and white shirts. With cardigan sweaters and shawls. Every day. I don't want to waste time thinking about what to wear. I like that look and it is comfortable. Less time deciding = more time for good stuff.
And aprons. I want to wear aprons. Aprons over my white shirts and under my cardigans and shawls. I just sewed the cutest dang apron and I might where it Out In Public. I'll need aprons to keep my white shirts white.

When I type the word SEW in reference to this apron I want to laugh out loud. Because all there is to sew are the shoulder seams. Then it is fancied up with some trim which was easier than turning raw edges under and sewing them down. And then I added a pocket. That first skirt I sewed in 7th grade home-ec was harder than this apron.
I found this pattern where everybody is finding good things these days, on Pinterest.
I followed the link to this web page:

I downloaded the pattern and it printed out onto 14 pieces of paper which were then taped together, following a grid.
Now that I know this pattern is a keeper, I need to either laminate the thing or transfer it to pattern paper if the paper I have is wide enough.

I purchased this fabric with plans to make a top, but that never happened. I decided the fabric wanted to be an apron instead. About 1 1/3 yards of fabric, which I folded width-wise, is enough for this pattern. I used a fat quarter for the pocket. It took just under 6 yards of trim, with enough left to add a little lace to the pocket.
Quick and easy. The Sewing was faster and easier than finding the trim and waiting for someone to wait on me at Hancock Fabrics last night.

Elle looks so pretty, modeling the apron, doesn't she? Sadly, she cannot hold that wooden spoon as a prop, so we tucked it into the pocket. (P.S. That pocket is awesome. The next apron will have a buttonhole sewn into the apron underneath the pocket so I can run my earbud wires under the apron and into the pocket to plug into my iPod.)
And here is what I look like in the apron, but I won't be showing you the back because my rear axle is not quite so petite as Elle's. Not comparing! Not contrasting! Not denying! If I didn't have that caboose, I'd bruise myself every time I sat down to weave. I'm trying to eat right and exercise my way to a truce.

Enough about aprons. I have been on a hat knitting marathon. I am trying to tweak and perfect a hat idea and I have about one. more. hat. in me before I wave the white flag. I now have 4 hats of various shapes and sizes. The last one, the one I just finished 2 nights ago, thinking it was going to be the final pattern? Yeah. Well let's just say one should pay attention to the yarn she grabs out of her stash because gauge does matter and this hat….. the hat I thought was going to be the answer to a more elastic cast-on edge and proper fit? Way Too Big Hat. Like I said- I think I have one more hat in me. This whole thing started as a way to use leftover skeins of yarn. Well. I did accomplish that. In fact, I've been so successful in using up those leftovers that I will be buying yarn to make what I hope is the last variation on this theme.

These hats are drying on a variety of vases and candlesticks.Way Too Big Hat would not fit in the picture is not pictured.This is the Mama, Papa, Baby bear of hats: 1. a long slouchy too tight hat,2. a too loose hat and 3. a slightly too tight, much too short hat.Will the next hat be Just Right?